I can make the obvious assumption that many of them have seen the guru ads who make it sound like shooting fish in a barrel and believe it will be an easy way to become an investor without money.As illustrated many times before from a wide range of experienced investors the path to a successful wholesale business requires a good amount of capital to spend on marketing which most newbies do not account for. 

If the market turns and you have to cut rents a bit, and/or rent to lower class tenants, at least the laminate materials will last.As for HVAC, this will vary widely by the contractor, but a fellow investor I know just put a central air system in a house that didn't previously have central air, it cost $15.5k.

So many events have an agent, newbie, or wide focus.

I don't have a measurement on the windows, but they are probably 2.5' wide and 5' tall, and they are a single sliding window.  

Real estate is a very wide sector, figure out what area you want to focus in on and become an expert!

If you grew up there and know the current situation then move ahead with eyes wide open.Good Luck.

One lot the house was on and another 25' wide lot right next to it.

Having 5 units also does give you some protection if 1-2 units have tenant issues, which is good.The estimated closing costs of $3,000 seems a bit low to me, but that certainly varies widely from lender to lender and from area to area.

Is that Texas wide or specific to certain banks/areas?

Other investors prefer 50%+ POH units and have an array of strategies that justify a high POH/TOH ratio, commonly leasing them on contract to purchase to existing tenants.